Articles by Jill


Do You Overlook the Indirect Costs?

Posted by Jill on February 1st, 2010

Leading up to my CFP(R) exam last fall, I set a little aside from several paychecks to save the total amount of my registration fee. When I registered, I depleted the entire amount I had saved – but the registration wasn’t the end of my exam-related expenses. I forgot to take into account the $120 [...]

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7 Ways to Fix Your Credit After a Foreclosure

Posted by Jill on January 25th, 2010

In 2009, over 3 million homes were forced into foreclosure. High unemployment, adjustable rate mortgages, and tight credit came together to make it simply impossible for many American homeowners to continue making mortgage payments. Foreclosure leaves a big black mark on your credit report, and can drop your credit score by up to 150 points, [...]

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How to Earn High Returns with Lending Club

Posted by Jill on January 6th, 2010

Almost two years ago I opened a P2P lending account with Prosper. I invested in about 20 loans before they shut down for SEC registration. I switched to more stringent lending criteria after having a few loans default early on, but still had many defaults. Those defaults made me a little turned off by the [...]

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Prosper Versus Lending Club

Posted by Jill on January 5th, 2010

About 2006, Peer to Peer (P2P) lending emerged as a new way for people to lend money to each other without going through banks or other traditional avenues. Since then, the two largest players in the P2P market have been Prosper (our review) and Lending Club (our review). Both sites allow borrowers to make loan [...]

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Prosper Review: A Closer Look at Social Lending

Posted by Jill on January 4th, 2010

Social lending, also called Person-to-Person and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending, started a few years ago as a way for people to borrow and lend money without going through traditional banks. The two biggest players in the industry are Prosper and Lending Club. Give social lending a try for free! Sign up for Lending Club and get [...]

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